Disappearance of Habeas Corpus Clause from Library of Congress Website Sparks Controversy

In an incident that sparked widespread controversy, a fundamental clause concerning "the right to habeas corpus" disappeared from the US Constitution, from the official website of the Library of Congress. This right, considered one of the principles disliked by Donald Trump, is a fundamental guarantee that allows individuals to challenge the legality of their detention and obliges authorities to provide clear justifications for depriving them of their liberty.

What is the Right to Habeas Corpus?

"Habeas Corpus," literally meaning "bring the body" in Latin, is a judicial order requiring authorities to present a detainee before the court to verify the legality of their arrest. This right, which traces its roots to the Magna Carta of 1215, is considered a cornerstone in protecting individual liberties from any arbitrary and unjustified detention by the executive authority.

Trump Administration's Attempts to Disregard the Right

Stephen Miller, then White House Deputy Chief of Staff, had publicly hinted at the idea of suspending "the right to habeas corpus" to support Trump's efforts to arrest and deport immigrants. Kristi Noem, who serves as Secretary of Homeland Security and leads Trump's mass deportation campaign, also attempted to claim that this constitutional right grants the President the authority to remove individuals from the country, an interpretation that completely contradicts the essence of this right. When asked about his commitment to due process and upholding the Constitution, Trump replied, "I don't know."

Disappearance of the Clause and the "Technical Glitch" Explanation

In recent weeks, Section 9 of Article 1 of the Constitution, which explicitly states: "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it," disappeared from the "Annotated Constitution" page on the Library of Congress website. By this morning, officials in the Trump administration informed employees that the deletion was due to a "technical glitch." Immediately, staff began working to fix the glitch, determine its causes, and review other sections of the website to ensure no similar deletions existed.

The "technical glitch" explanation surprised some federal employees, given the suspicious timing of the deletion and the declared efforts of the second Trump administration to dismantle parts of the Constitution. In a sarcastic comment to "Rolling Stone" magazine, a federal employee familiar with the situation remarked, "What a funny coincidence."

Library of Congress Confirmation and Restoration of the Deleted Clause

The Library of Congress published a confirmation on "X" (formerly Twitter) this morning, stating that the deletion was a result of a "software error." The tweet read: "It has come to our attention that some sections of Article 1 are missing from the Annotated Constitution website. We have learned that this is due to a software error. We have been working to correct this and expect the issue to be resolved soon." The website also added a clarifying banner stating: "The Annotated Constitution website is currently experiencing data issues. We are working to resolve this and apologize for the inconvenience."

By afternoon, the deleted parts of the US Constitution were restored to the webpage. The Library of Congress informed "Rolling Stone" magazine via email: "Due to a "technical error," some sections of Article 1 were temporarily missing from the Annotated Constitution website. This issue has been corrected, and the missing sections have been restored."

Implications of the Deletion and Attempts to Control the Library of Congress

It is worth noting that merely deleting parts of the US Constitution from a webpage – especially for an institution not considered the official custodian of the Constitution – does not change American law. However, regardless of what the document says, Trump and his top aides have revealed their clear intention to violate the Constitution as much as possible.

This modification to the Constitution website comes at a time when Trump seeks to exert control over the Library of Congress, despite the agency technically being part of the legislative branch. The Library serves as a research arm for Congress, in addition to holding the world's largest collection of books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, and recordings.

Trump had announced in May his intention to dismiss Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, before the end of her 10-year term, and sought to replace her with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who had served as Trump's personal lawyer. Hayden filed an appeal last week before the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, after a judge had previously denied her request to prevent her termination.